Flex Polisher Take A Shine To It
This FLEX polisher is a BIG performer in an easy-to-handle format. Forget about a tiddly angle grinder sized machine with no guts and no coverage, this is a professional machine meant to do a great job day in and day out. I have not had that many opportunities to try out a good polisher. My car does not often benefit from polishing attention, so I thought that I would give that a try. Also, with a show coming up, I thought I would try this polisher on the flat table- top surfaces of some oak furniture in order to save a bit of effort on my part. Never having thought about it too
much, I was surprised to find that the body of the FLEX polisher is about 40cm long from tip to tail. It does feel quite long compared to a small angle grinder for example. But I soon put the comparison out of my head when I started using the machine. It needs to be that long in order to have good balance and handling characteristics and to counteract the friction forces from the spinning polishing mops. The body is made from ABS in the
by now familiar FLEX red, with a black rubber overmould on the gear casing in front and a black band round the middle. The overmould does come in handy for gripping should you need to do a detail polish job where the auxiliary handle might not give enough sensitivity. There is a nice little ledge underneath it that also gives your fingers a good holding place. Right on top where it is in full view is the spindle lock button. This sits in a slight depression so it is unlikely to be pushed accidentally (with pretty disastrous consequences for the gear box presumably). On a polisher this spindle lock is needed quite often so it is important that it works smoothly, which this one does. The auxiliary handle is big enough
with enough ribbed grip to make it useful. It can be screwed to either side of the gear head so will suit left or right handers. From the gear case back, the body tapers down in a couple of steps. The top of
the first part of the taper has a sticker that clearly indicates what each speed setting is. This is important to make clear on a polisher because some polishing jobs may be very sensitive to heat build-up. The speeds range from 600 rpm to 2100 rpm in six stages. I confess that I felt more comfortable at the slower speed ranges with the polishing jobs I used the FLEX on. The last bit of body
taper is just enough to fit an average size hand around. The shape is roughly oval in section and just above on the left hand side, within thumb reach for right-handers is the speed selection dial. Finally the large two- finger sized trigger is in- line underneath with a
14 ToolBUSINESS+HIRE
Independent Review by Peter Brett
stop button on the left to lock the motor on for continuous usage. Right from the back where it won?t get in the way is a four metre long heavy duty cord that should give a fair bit of reach for many jobs. Supplied with the particular kit I was
sent was a soft polishing cloth, a synthetic lambswool polisher pad and two foam pads. These last three have a particularly sticky hook and loop fixing that extends over the whole of the back of the pads so there was never a time when I felt that they were likely to part company from the backing pad. The whole kit is housed in a large
black plastic case with substantial latches and a comfortable handle. The polisher can be placed in the case with the polishing pad and auxiliary handle in place, so it is easy to put away. There is also plenty of space to roll up the cord without causing hassles when trying to close the lid. (a pet gripe ? I hate having to roll up the cord so neatly just so that it doesn?t foul the hinges of the case. Life is just too short) The lid is deep and separated from
the main case by a rigid plastic divider that can be locked closed. In the lid there is probably enough space for at least six polishing mops and applicators. These can be separated into compartments so they aren’t mixed up. This could be helpful if they are covered in wax or polish etc. When I first used the FLEX polisher I
didn?t know quite what to expect, but it is a most civilized performer. When you pull the large trigger there is a slight lull as the ‘slow start’ gets going. This stops any strong torque reaction and as the machine gets to the set revs the motor note tails off into a very reasonable hummy whine. I started on a flattish section of the car bonnet, simply trying to buff off some wax polish I had applied
by hand. I started at the slowest speed of 600 rpm but as I got more confident was able to move it up a tad. The resultant finish made me realize why I don?t bother to polish my car by hand ? it is just too much like hard work for an indifferent result. The polisher on the other hand gives almost instant and very desirable results. You do have to be very careful on corners and intricate bits where you have to watch how the rotation of the pad affects the direction of travel. A bit like ensuring that you follow the right direction of travel when using a router. On my oak table- tops I was able to get a deep lustre in less than five minutes, and this certainly saved me a lot of time. In short, this FLEX PE14-2 150 did a very good job. Great to use, not noisy and easy to handle. I just need to keep it a week or so longer so that I can finish the rest of the car.
Reply No. 223
www.toolbusiness.co.uk
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